The sun over Ninjago has gone until the really dark night arrived. It was after dinner and the ninja went to their room, to sleep for the next day of training.
Everyone was asleep, except Kai, who began to shiver in the cold in the middle of the night.
The red ninja felt the cold so suddenly after awaking in the night. He did not know where it came from, but it was terrible cold. So cold that Kai's skin has become pale, that he could easily be confused with an snowman or even his friend Zane. He tried to use harsher measures like warm up with his fiery powers, but this did not help him with afflicting cold.
His blood literally froze.
Kai thought it was just the usual flu that he had to contract during one of his trainings. He wrapped himself in several layers of blankets and fell asleep.
None of his friends sleeping in one room noticed the fiery light flashing for a split second through the whole bedroom. Only Jay, who barely conscious, covered his head with the pillow and laying aside.
(20 YEARS EARLIER)
She was trapped here for a long time. She did not know how much, but it seemed to her for thousands of years.
Pyro Viper's eyes began to fade because of the lack of sun in the Ancient Pyramid, as she was already tired. Despite appearances, not by staying through the millennium in this prison, but because of something else.
The Serpentine was crying, tears were running down the head of her newborn baby in both her arms. The baby snake was starving and tried to feed on his mother's milk, but she repulsed him with her arm.
The Serpentines despite being reptiles, were able produce milk for their young.
Aspheera sobbed, as her eyes were teary. There was not enough food for her child. Her only son, who came into the world a moment earlier.
To top it all, Pyro Vipers grow every 10 years and was the reason, why they had longer lifespan compared to other serpentine tribes. This, however, meant that her son would be 100 years old when he will start primary school, which would not help Aspheera, who wanted well for her son.
Crying, she heard steps in her direction.
Nervously she shuddered and pointed her vertical eyes towards the wall next to her. So there was someone who wanted to go through these traps just to solve this rebus on the wall?
Aspheera took a heavy breath and caught the last transformation potion in her right hand, which she did until there were no components that she wasted on other potions earlier.
The potion helped Pyro Vipers in shapeshifting for a specific period, helping to hide from sinister people.
The female Pyro Viper holded the mixture in front of her fangs, as the smell passed through her nostrils.
She had a choice. Drink it herself or give it to her own son.
Aspheera planted a kiss on her son's head.
The decision was obvious. She could not let her child be killed by strangers. She wanted her little hatchling chance to see the light of day.
The female Pyro Viper brought the bottle's opening close to her baby's muzzle, bending his head down that he would not choke. The young snake temporarily protest, which forced his mother to squeeze the child's head. She was good but a harsh mother.
"I know it's not tasty, Kai"
The infant coughed couple of times, poking his forked tongue out after swallowing the liquid. A disgusted grimace appeared on the face of a small snake, which meant the drink was bitter.
People outside were already close to the rebus solution.
Fortunately, the kid began to change slowly. The scales began to fall from his body, to be replaced by smooth human skin. The baby's head from the serpentine morphed into yellow head with messy brown hair growing on it. After a while Aspheera's son looked the same as the inhabitants of Ninjago City and the nearby villages.
Meanwhile the door rose to show two people in front of it.
One bearded young man in a red and a female with a straight hair and blue dress.
The male slowly stepped closer to tired female snake with "human" child in both of her arms. He travelled his eyes examining Aspheera. His eyes, however, focused on the baby wrapped in towel.
"Where did you found it?" he asked, raising his eyebrow with anger.
"I do not know" Aspheera lied with tears in her eyes. "He had to come in here when I was sleeping"
The man's both hands began to burn with fire, as The Pyro Viper gasped with fright seeing this.
"Stop lying!" he yelled. "Where have you found it you monster?"
Aspheera's glowing eyes filled with tears
"I PROMISE I DON'T KNOW!" she replied loudly with a fright in her tone. "The little kid had to crawl around somehow"
The fire from the stranger's hands disappeared, as he himself muttered something under his breath. Without a single word, he snatched the child from the serpent and looked at him.
The baby creature was wrapped in gray blanket. His black eyes were gazing at the large human with curiosity. The young boy whined seeing no sight of his beloved mother.
"We are taking him out" he said firmly, until he looked balefully at Aspheera. "If there was no child, I would have beaten you for a sour apple"
The female Pyro Viper gulped, as she watched the man walking away with her child. Before the adult snake came down from its place, the door closed, leaving her back in the dark.
(PRESENT TIME)
The sun came out slowly bringing the new day to Ninjago City residents. Not only to the city, but to the Monastery, waking up the Ninja.
Lloyd woke up first, yawning and stretching up his limbs.
"Alright guys, it's time to wake up and start training" he stated, jumping out of his bed.
"Is it morning, already?" Jay whined, taking off the pillow from his head. "I want to sleep"
Cole chuckled.
"What a Sleepy Beauty are you, Jay" the black ninja said with a smirk.
"My battery had enough time to recharge" Zane added. "What about you, Kai?"
The Titanium Ninja did not get an answer.
The all ninjas glanced at Kai's bed with a worry. The red ninja rarely got out of bed earlier, he preferred to sleep while waiting for training.
"Kai?" Lloyd stepped closer to his friend's bed and looked at it.
On Kai's pillow laid some blankets. Lloyd rolled his eyes and took it off the bed.
"Kai, stop joking a-" the green ninja froze in the middle of the sentence.
A very young blue serpentine slept on the pillow. From the growth it was possible to guess that it was a toddler. Two tiny fangs protruded from its muzzle, as instead of legs it had one tail.
The young snake yawned and slowly opened his red glowing eyes.